The 2018 Cy Young voters received some heat over the winter for their selection of Blake Snell as the best pitcher in the American League. It’s not that Snell did not have a spectacular season, because he did, but rather that there were a slew of other pitchers who also could be said to have deserved it. it really was a no-win situation for the voters, because the race was so tight that there were going to be angry fans regardless of who wound up winning. With as many viable candidates as there currently are, it is almost impossible to know which pitcher is really the best. Really, the answer to that question depends entirely on how you define the word “best” in regards to pitching.

In terms of sheer value given to their team, Snell was the best. His 7.5 WAR via baseball-reference led the American League solidly, as nobody else even managed to get up to seven. He was 1.2 WAR ahead of Justin Verlander, and 2.6 ahead of Corey Kluber, who were the second and third place runners in the Cy Young voting. Snell also led the league in ERA+ and h/9, and a 11.0 K/9 show he was able to miss bats with the best of them, so it doesn’t feel like too big a leap to consider him to have been deserving of being the most valuable pitcher.

The thing is, the title of this article isn’t Who’s the most VALUABLE Pitcher, its who’s the BEST. Although Snell may have produced the most overall value, he also did it in considerably more playing time than two of the other prime candidates, Chris Sale and Trevor Bauer. All of Sale’s peripheral stats were better than Snell’s, as his FIP would have led the league as would his K/9 had he not missed too many innings to qualify. Bauer’s FIP did lead the league, and his K/9 was also higher than Snell’s. If you look at WAR per 100 IP, Snell does edge out Bauer, 4.15 to 3.25, but Bauer was on track to pitch far more innings as he was able to work much deeper into starts. Sale’s WAR per 100 IP beat out both of them at 4.36. Since both Sale and Bauer missed about a month of the season, it’d be easy to see either of them passing him in WAR had they stayed healthy. More notably, Sale’s stats seemed better than either of them in terms of value on a per-opportunity basis, so if you’re just talking about who’s the best pitcher when healthy, the answer seems to shift from Snell to Sale.

At this time of year, considering only on the previous season also doesn’t usually lead to the correct answer. Focusing on last year’s Cy Young race would make sense for only looking at 2018, but knowing the best overall at a given time may require a more in-depth look. We aren’t doing that, though, and instead are looking at who is the most talented pitcher, which means potential for future success is also going to be important. Last season plays the biggest factor, but it shouldn’t be the only one. Instead, it would make sense to look at last year relative to their career, as that probably provides the most clear answer for who simply had a good year, and who is truly a next level talent.

If you average the WAR per 100 of the five pitcher in serious consideration for the Cy Young Award’s 2018 season with their whole career, the order reads as follows: Sale(3.67), Snell(3.23), Kluber(2.66), Verlander(2.63), and Bauer(1.63). Again, this seems to suggest that Sale is the best of all of the starters when he’s able to stay healthy. Frustratingly, though, Sale also has the biggest injury history of anyone on this list.

The truth is that this question seems to depend on your perception of what it means to be good at pitching. In terms of producing the most over the course of a season, it seems like Snell may be the top candidate. If you want to focus on career accomplisment, you should probably choose either Verlander or Kluber, or perhaps even C.C. Sabathia if you’re willing to discount the past few seasons of mediocrity(the reason he isn’t mentioned before now). If you believe being the best shouldn’t be dependent on service time, than the best pitcher is likely either Chris Sale or a number of incredible relief pitchers. The answer to this question is really completely subjective, and it honestly depends on who’s asking. After all, beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.

It finally happened. The “Bryce is Right” sweepstakes are over. Bryce Harper signed the largest deal in American sports history, topping Manny Machado’s $300 million free-agent deal and Giancarlo Stanton’s $325 million extension by agreeing to a 330 million dollar deal that’s good for the next 13 years. A deal of that size and that length is going to go down in history, especially given that there’ s no escape with a full no-trade clause and zero opt-outs for Harper. Its importance is going to go be significant, but it’s tough to say whether it will be a great success or a horrible failure.

The issue with attempting to evaluate a contract like this is that there are none. Harper and Machado both set records this offseason in terms of contract size, but that was only partly because of how much more money there is to give them. The biggest oddity in figuring out how these contracts will play out is not the size or length, but rather how young both players are. They are both entering their age 26 season this year. That is an astoundingly low age for giving up such a large paycheck. It’s difficult to predict how they will react to those sets of circumstances, because they have never actually existed before. Although past history will give some clues, there are no clear examples of a contract like the ones these two signed.

There is no question that Harper’s value comes from his bat. Since his career began, the only area he has been at all consistent in has been inside the batter’s box. HIs 27.4 WAR ranks 34th among position players entering their age 26 season since 1920, which is incredible but perhaps not legendary. His 27.4 oWAR, however, is 25th all time through age 25, and his career OPS(0.900) and OPS+(139) are 18th and 16th respectively. He has drawn the fourth most walks of any 25 year olds ever, and hit more home runs than all but 11 players by age 26 ever. An MVP, Rookie of the Year award, and six All-Star appearances also account for his hitting prowess. Simply put, few players in history have achieved as much as Harper has offensively at this point in their careers.

While the total number suggest greatness, one of Harper’s biggest question marks has been consistency. Over a third of his 27.4 total WAR came in his incredible 10.0 WAR MVP season in 2015. Although his WAR has been at an All-Star level in three of his seasons, he also has thee more where he’s been below two, which is the average for a Major League starting position player. At his best, Harper is one of the best players in the league. At his worst, though, he isn’t even good enough to crack the starting lineup. Injuries have certainly played a role in his inconsistency, but just means that the Phillies need to be concerned about his health remaining optimal. Harper figuring out how to play at his best full-time is going to be a deciding factor in whether he’ll wind up deserving this contract or not.

The most common knock on Harper’s play is his defense. His -3.2 dWAR last season was the eighth worst performance of any player in the history of baseball. He’s been a negative in the outfield most of his seasons in the league, and there’s no guarantee he’ll even be able to stay there for his entire career. There is some hope that he can be a decent fielder, as he had a 1.5 dWAR in his rookie year. He won’t have to be a positive fielder for this contract to work out, but he can’t be as detrimental to his team as he was last season either. While he probably won’t ever reach his rookie season level again, there is at least a solid chance that he can go back to be an around-average fielder again, which would do a lot to help him finally stay as one of the best players in the league.

One aspect of Harper’s game that is going to be questioned is his performance in the playoffs. His .211/.315/.487 slash line is not incredible, but it is hardly conceding either given that it’s only over four different playoff series and 19 total games. especially with the five home runs he hit, there’s nothing to suggest he can’ hit in October, just that he hasn’t necessarily done it yet. If he wants Philadelphia to believe he’s earned his massive deal, though, he’s going to have to show up when it counts. The Phillies have clearly put themselves in a position to reach the post-season, so Harper is almost certainly going to get chances to prove himself. How he plays when the lights are brightest will go a long way in deciding whether Philadelphia really should have given him everything they did.

Harper is going to be an interesting case-study over the next 13 years. Good or bad, this contract may wind up influencing a lot of future contracts given to the next wave of superstar free-agents Until its over, though, there is no way of knowing which way it is going to go. Harper has cemented that he’ll have an important place in baseball history, but now it’s up to him to show exactly how he’ll be remembered.

Manny Machado was always going to get paid. Since his breakout season in 2013, everyone who followed him at all knew he was going to break the bank of whatever team decided to sign him. What people may not have expected, however, is that he would become the highest paid free-agent in American sports history, which is what happened Tuesday when the San Diego Padres locked Machado up for the next 10 years for $300 million(Giancarlo Stanton’s contract is technically larger, but it was an extension, not a free-agent contract). The only problem with a contract this large is that, from now until it’s completion, it will always be accompanied in conversation with the question, “Was it really worth it?’

There is no question that Machado has been one of the best players in the league since his emergence half a decade ago. HIs 146 OPS+ and .905 OPS ranked 8th and 11th in the league last season, respectively. The 2.8 Wins Above Replacement(WAR) that he gave the Los Angeles Dodgers last season after his trade from the Orioles, which occurred immediately after the All-Star break, proved to be crucial for their late-season playoff push. The most telling stat, though, is that Machado has the 21st highest WAR of any player entering his age 26 season since the Live-Ball Era started. There are four players ahead of them who are not in the Hall of Fame. Vada Pinson, Andruw Jones, and Cesar Cedano all managed career WAR’s of over 50, and were each likely Hall of Famers before injuries took away their careers. The only other who is not in is Trout, who is number one and would be a first-ballot Hall of Famer even if he didn’t get another hit in his entire career. That history certainly seems to suggest that Machado will be able to provide exceptional value for the Padres for the better part of that contract.

Machado’s ability on defense may be what really separates him from the rest of the pack. His ability at the hot-corner is historically good. He has won a pari of Gold Gloves and even a Platinum Glove at the position. The stats back up the accolades, as his 11.8 dWAR is the second highest among active players, behind only the great Andrelton Simmons(yes, I said great). Combined with his exceptional offensive ability, this certainly makes Machado one of the best all-around players in all of Major League Baseball.

One of my arguments for Machado is also one of the largest against him. The biggest issue with Machado’s defense at third is that he doesn’t want to play it. Despite the fact that Machado’s numbers at short were significantly worse than at third, he refuses to shift back over. Last season, Machado posted the worst dWAR of his entire career. Maybe this is for the best for the Padres, as their biggest prospect, Fernando Tatis Jr., may not be able to stay at short given his larger frame, so shifting him to third and Machado to short might be the best defensive alignment in the coming years. Regardless, this shows a selfish mindset where Machado is prioritizing himself over winning, and that won’t fly when this team begins trying to contend.

Of course, the third base issue is only a microcosm of Machado’s biggest flaw. He has been known his whole career for issues such as dirty slides, a lack of hustle, and a disinterest in being any sort of clubhouse leader. Maybe the new position he’s in will change him, but a franchise player can’t have those sorts of characteristics. This team is giving this money with the expectation that he will help them win both on the field and off. Whether or not he will, though, certainly has yet to be proven.

Finally, it can’t be ignored that Machado struggled in the post-season last year. He has a .213/.268/.382 slash line in his career in the playoffs, and his .182/.208/.182 line in the World Series last season did not help. It isn’t a very large sample, so it could be a fluke. There is no question that it matters, though. The Padres need him to be the cornerstone of their franchise for most of this contract, and that means performing when it matters most. If he fails to do that, it will be hard believe he was really worth the money.

The truth is that only time will tell whether or not the Padres made a mistake. While he has a lot of question marks, a lot of those issues are things that players can grow out of, and there’s no question that Machado is young enough to experience growth. With a career well on track for Cooperstown, as well as the hope that his best years are even still ahead of him, this contract seems much safer than any previous 10-year deal. The next decade could go any number of directions, but it still feels like most wind up with the Padres not regretting the deal too much. Who knows, maybe this is the turning point in Baseball’s most pathetic franchise. Time will tell.

On fFebruary 7, 2019, Frank Robinson died at the age of 83. Robinson was one of the greatest players in the history of baseball. In every aspect of his life, he was successful. As amazing as he was at playing, his life off the field was just as impressive, and in many ways far more important. He was a player who everyone in the game respected, and who deserves to be remembered for as long as baseball is relevant.

Robinson was truly exceptional as a player. His 107.3 career WAR is the fifth highest among right-fielders of all time. When he was traded from the Reds to the Orioles after the 1965 season, their GM famously regarded Robinson as an “old 30.” He responded by winning the American League Triple-Crown, the MVP, and a World Series the very next year. He led the league twice in hits, twice in On-Base Percentage, four times in slugging, and four times in OPS and OPS+. He was the first and only player to win the MVP award in both leagues, as he had won one with the Reds in 1961 along to go along with his 1966 title. Most notably, his 586 home runs are the tenth most all time, which is impressive as he only ever topped 40 once.

As amazing as a player he was, he was more impressive off the field. As a player, he was as tough as they come. His teammates all have said that he was unafraid to talk to anyone who made a mistake, and was always a presence in any clubhouse he was in. His most notable accomplishment is being the first ever African-American manager. People often speak of the grace that he carried despite the hatred he received from the racist, primitive-minded fans who existed in such great numbers back then. Although he is far less famous, he deserves every ounce of respect that is given to the earlier trailblazers such as Jackie Robinson or Roy Campanella. He loved the game, and not even the ignorance of the area that crippled opportunities for so many was going to prevent him from pursuing it.

Truly, Frank Robinson was a great figure in a great sport. He helped to make huge strides for African-Americans in baseball. The game will never be perfect in that regard, but there is no questioning that it would be worse without him. He deserves to be remembered not only as one of the very greatest players in the history of the game, but also as one of the greatest people to ever be a part of it.

Every year since they entered the ballot, people have argued more about whether or not Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens belong in Baseball’s Hall of Fame more than any other players. Bonds and Clemens are arguably the two best players in fifty years, however what they accomplished was hardly legitimate. although they both set a number of records that seem unreachable, they also did it with the help of performance enhancing drugs(PED’s). This has left the Baseball Writers Association of America with a. tough decision of whether or not their careers deserve that reward. Although they had nearly no traction at the beginning, they have steadily climbed every year, and now, in their seventh year of eligibility, they have garnered approximately 60% of the vote. This is widely due to a growing number of rationalizations on why they actually belong in, however in the end they really are just that; rationalizations.

One of the most common phrases brought up in this discussion is “they were Hall of Famers before they took any PED’s, so they should be rewarded for that.” Yes, the first half of that argument is true. Both Bonds and Clemens were easily hall of famers before they are believed to have begun juicing. Still, that should not be enough to win votes. The fact that they were great players on their own should not justify the means that they went to in order to become better. The most popular counter to this argument would be Pete Rose. Having more hits than any other player wasn’t enough to put him in the Hall of Fame after he gambled, so why should Bonds’ and Clemens’ careers be any different with an equally serious crime. Being good at baseball shouldn’t excuse them from being punished in the same way everyone else was.

Similar to the idea that they should be recognized for what they accomplished without steroids, some also believe that what they did while on them should be enough as well. What they are saying is that it isn’t fair that the player with the most home runs or the one with the most Cy Young awards are both not in the Hall of Fame. Again, past events in history help to counter this idea. When Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record, he received an asterisk because he played in more games the tRuth did. If Maris is penalized for simply having more time, than the punishment for actually cheating to achieve a record should be far more severe. Yes, the players with those records are not in the Hall. However, with the means they went to in order to achieve those, should we even acknowledge their achievements to begin with. While erasing them from history would not be an appropriate response, rewarding them for cheating certainly isn't either. While their records should not be forgotten, they also should not be received with the highest honor baseball has to offer.

The arguably most common argument does not actually involve either Bonds or Clemens, however it is the idea that we already have unknowingly elected someone who used PED’s already. This argument is probably true. Baseball does not have affective drug testing, and as a result there certainly have been several who have cheated without being caught, enough even that it doesn’t seem at all unlikely that one would have made it to the Hall of Fame. However, electing someone who cheated because we probably have already accidentally done so previously is not a good enough reason to elect Bonds and Clemens. You should not reward someone who you KNOW cheated because you have already elected someone who you THINK cheated. There is a huge discretion between mistakenly electing someone who committed this offense versus knowingly doing it. Just because someone may or may not have gotten away with it does not justify allowing people who didn’t get away with it the same privileges. If it becomes found out later that someone in the Hall did in fact cheat, it would make more sense to in some way punish him rather than lower the standards for everyone else.

Bonds and Clemens should not be in the Hall of Fame. By taking PED’s, they violated the game. They decided that it was more important to play well then it was to play fair. It is too late to punish them as players, but not to do so during their post-career lives. To elect them would be to say that it is okay to cheat as long as you do so better than everyone else. This is not the mentality that belongs in a professional environment, especially one that so strongly caters to younger minds. Plus, it is not at all the players that did not cheat to give the greatest award in the sport to players who did. Despite the rationalizations that have been presented by so many writers, there honestly is no justification for electing these people who so fully disgraced the game of baseball.

After a seriously disappointing 2017-18 season, the St. Louis Blues knew that something had to change. After missing the playoffs for the first time since 2010-11, they completely changed their philosophy. Instead of continuing to plan for the somewhat-distant future, the Blues began going into complete win-now mode. They made a series of offseason moves that seemed to guarantee them a spot come the postseason this year. However, the team still has yet to get going halfway through the season. Over the last few games, they finally have shown signs of life. Is it a sign of things to come, or simply a blip of success in the middle of the coldest seasons in franchise history.

The Blues really should be good. They completely revamped their offense by trading star-prospect Tage Thompson for star center Ryan O’Reilly, as well as singing free-agents Tyler Bozak and Pat Maroon. These moves, combined with a healthy Jaden Shwartz and star Vladimir Tarasenko, should have made the offense one of the most potent in the NHL. This has been far from the case, though. Tarasanko has been having one of his worst scoring seasons to date, while Bozak, Schwartz, and Bozak all have yet to really get things going. While they’ve all shown bursts of being what they were supposed to be, none have done it with any real consistency. Only O’Reilly, the Blues lone all-star this season.

While the Blues offense has struggled, other teams’ certainly have not when playing St. Louis. The Blues have struggled all year at preventing goals. Their star defensive players, Alex Petrangelo and Colton Parayko, have been having worse years than anybody expected on both ends of the ice. The real problem, though, has been Jake Allen. Allen has been having the worst season of his career, as both his GAA and save percentage are at the lowest he’s ever had. Although teams have been getting far too many shots up at the nett thanks to their defense, there is no question that the goaltending has been the biggest problem with the team.

Finally, though, the Blues are playing like they should have. They’ve won four of their last seven games, including wins over the Calgary Flames and Washington Capitols. Their last win was their most impressive, though, a 3-0 shutout in Philadelphia as Jordan Bennington had a shutout in his first career shot. The team played well the whole game, and did a far better job of getting up to the net and getting off clean shots than they have done any other game this season. Ryan O’Reilly has had a point in his last six, and the offense has finally looked like the one St. Louis paid for this offseason.

While this burst may not be proof that the Blues are finally going to play the way they should, it is at the very least a good sign. We know that they can play well, which gives St. Louis fans hope moving forward. This season has not offered a lot to be optimistic about, as the Blues spent a brief time at the bottom of the league and have yet to win more than two games in a row, so any silver lining is going to be a welcome sight among Blues fans. Even if they do surge back, they are so far out that it may not be enough to land a playoff spot. Even so, knowing that the team CAN play well would be huge, as it may keep them from tearing apart the team for scraps this offseason. Maybe this is just the Blues once again fooling St. Louis fans into having hope just to rip it from their hearts, as they’ve done so many times since their inauguration into the league. Maybe not, though. Maybe this is finally something to feel optimistic about. Probably not, but maybe.

Craig Kimbrel may well be the most sought after free-agent reliever of this offseason. Many teams would love to have a relief ace of his caliber, and are willing to pay plenty in order to get it. However, early in the offseason, Kimbrel announced that he wanted a deal that would last for the next six seasons. Craig Kimbrel’s dominance has been felt for nearly a decade now, but is even that enough to justify giving a deal that long term to a member of baseball’s least consistent position?

Since the start of 2010, there is no question as to who the best reliever in baseball has been. In that time, no relief pitcher has accumulated a higher WAR via baseball-reference than Kimbrel. He also has the highest era+ of any reliever, with a score of 211. That means that, over nine seasons, he has been twice as good at preventing runs than an average player would have. He has more saves than any other active pitcher. He has a career WHIP below 1.000, both an ERA and FIP below 2.00, and a K/9 of 14.7. Nobody has come close to approaching his level of dominance since his career began, and, when it is all said and done, he will go down as one of the greatest relief pitchers of all time.

While Kimbrel’s 2018 season wasn’t his best, it also was far from his worst. His WAR was the 14th best in all of the Major Leagues, he gave the Red Sox crucial innings all year that would eventually lead to their World Series victory. That being said, Kimbrel’s FIP, ERA, and WHIP were all higher than his career average, while his K/9 and ERA+ were both well lower. All of these were still well above average, but they also aren’t quite on the same level as what we have come to expect. While this by itself wouldn’t be concerning, the fact that it happened the same year that he broke the 30 barrier possibly is. While there is a chance that it was just a down year, and that his few injuries may have contributed, it doesn’t help that he is now past the age that is universally considered to be when player’s skills begin to fade, especially in the case of relievers. There is of course a chance that he will still be dominant for another decade, as we saw with Mariana Rivera and Trevor Hoffman, but there is never a guarantee.

Despite his age, there really is no reliever more deserving of the deal he’s asking for than Kimbrel. The biggest problem with it isn’t Kimbrel himself, but rather the fact that it may be impossible for any reliever to warrant a deal of that caliber. While his WAR is the best among relievers, its only the 25th highest since 2010 among all pitchers. Set it too include all players, and suddenly he drops all the way to 100th. Relievers simply do not provide enough value to warrant the amount of money he’s asking. His WAR last season was 2.0, which is said to be the amount that an average position player starter gets. If he was providing that value from third-base, nobody would even consider giving him the level of money or time he’s asking for.

The other issue with relievers is how steeply they decline. Every year, there are at least one or two closer’s who had been amazing the year before who struggle to then point of being traded or cut. Since he is past the 30 year old mark, there is no telling if or when Kimbrel is going to suddenly stop being able to contribute. Although he currently is one of the most trustworthy relievers in baseball, there’s no guarantee that he won’t suddenly loose that as early as next year. With that level of risk involved, it seems hard to justify giving an expensive, long term deal to him. Maybe it would work out, but there is still a chance that he’ll only be able to play well for half of it.

Kimbrel certainly has proven he’s no ordinary reliever. Maybe he is good enough to stay great for another six seasons or more. Certainly, any team that gives him the deal he’s asking would be happier giving it to him than any other closer. That said, there are a huge number of risks involved, and any GM is going to know that. There’s no way of telling how it’d pan out, but any team that does decide they want him long term should seriously think it through. He’s a great player, but there’s no telling how long he’ll be able to stay great.

There is no question that one of the thirty Major League Baseball teams is going to open their checkbooks and guarantee that free agent outfielder Bryce Harper will immediately jump permanently into the 1%. He is considered the number 1 free agent in baseball, and some believe that he is enough to make any team a serious contender. While his monumental payday is all but inevitable, there is one question that should have formed in the back of every single GM’s mind; is Bryce Harper really that good?

Bryce Harper has been “the next face of baseball” for years. He made the cover of Sports Illustrated when he was in high school. Before he was even drafted, he was being treated like a MLB superstar. While the exposure to this sort of environment can be beneficial, as there were no real surprises once he got to the Big League level, it may also have depleted him of his competitive edge. He has been handed things his whole career, as he was a star even in the minors and made the All-Star game as a teenager. There hasn’t been a lot for him to work for so far in his career.

This has shown itself in a number of ways. He has had to be benched for not hustling. He cut up his face when a bat he threw at the dugout bounced back and hit him. There was the Jonathon Papelbon incident where something he said led to Harper being choked by him. Some of this stuff is old, and Harper’s 25 now. Maybe this stuff can be grown out of, but maybe it can’t. There certainly are players who outgrow these sorts of labels, but there are some that don’t. If Harper can’t, it could be seriously detrimental to a clubhouse of a team that is trying to compete.

Unfortunately for Harper, his issues don’t simply end with his perceived immaturity. There are some serious questions as to how valuable he really can be as a player. In 2015, he was far and away the best player in baseball. Outside of that one season, though, he has never really lived up to the hype. For a number of reasons, he has always struggled to be the player that people expected when he was first emerging.

Many believe that Harper is good enough at offense to make any lineup dangerous, but there are some serious red flags in that area. Last season, Harper his just .214 and struck out 102 times in the FIRST HALF. His high walk rate and ability to hit the ball far when he actually made contact were the only things that kept him even at all above-average. It took a huge second-half surge to make his season what it was, and who knows which of those two halves is actually indicative of his real skill. He’s shown both sides of the coin up to this point of his career, which should be a concern given that his hitting is supposed to be what sets him apart from the pack. Is it really worth locking into an expensive, long-term deal for a player whose had two seasons where he played the majority of games and still finished with a. WAR of about 1. A lot of the time, he is a very good hitter, but is he really $300 million good?

The biggest issue facing Harper, however, is also the most well-known. Harper can’t, or won’t, play defense. Throughout his career he has struggled to even play marginally well in the outfield. Although all the skills are seemingly there, Harper has always been a huge negative with his glove. In fact, by Fangraphs defensive metric, he rated as the third worst fielder in the entire Majors last season. Not just outfielder, but fielder. According to Baseball-Reference, he had a -3.2 dWAR. The Nationals would have won THREE more games with just an average fielder out there. These numbers suggest that he is simply always gong to be dangerously bad out there, so much so that it should raise serious concerns for any team not planning on using him as a DH. And since he probably views himself as too good to be a DH, that list is probably all 30 teams. In short, teams should be careful before handing this man a glove.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the last three seasons have been a mix of bad timing and bad luck. Maybe 2015 Bryce Harper is what we can expect for the next 5 or 6 years. Probably not though. More than likely, he is going to continue to be inconsistent and and even detrimental at times. This brings up the paradox; any team looking to add him is looking to stabilize their starting lineup for years to come, but they’re doing it with a player who has never been stable in his own right. I’m not saying that he shouldn’t be singed, or not even necessarily that he doesn’t deserve the insane money he is going to get. I’m just suggesting that GM’s be careful. Nothing is a given, but the past suggests that Harper may never be the player that some predicted, so why pay him like he is?

The St. Louis Cardinals are not a team that frequently targets top players. For over a decade, they have had a never ending pipeline of solid players that has fueled them to four World Series visits and two World Series wins since 2004. After a dominant stretch though, their formula of relying on homegrown talent stopped working, and its caused a three year playoff drought for the redbirds, their longest since the late 90’s. Determined not to let another October come and go, the Cardinals seem to be making moves, as they just pulled off what may end up being the biggest trade this offseason by moving three players and a pick to the Arizona Diamondbacks for the perennial all-star Paul Goldschmidt. For a team that manages to come so close and just miss every year, a star like Goldy may be just what they Cards need to push themselves back over the top.

The last three seasons have been brutal for the Cardinals. In 2015, after winning 100 games and finishing with the best record in baseball, they lost a tough NLDS to their arch-rival Chicago Cubs in four games. Then, in 2016 they showed promise but lacked consistency, as they missed the playoffs by one game. 2017 was worse, as the team took a huge slide downward after the first month and finished four games out of the Wild Card. 2018 may have been the most heartbreaking, as the team treaded water all year up until August, where they took off after firing manager Mike Matheny. They did not lose a series that month, and managed to climb all the way to the first Wild Card,. In September, though, they fell short yet again, missing the playoffs by just a few games. Their huge comeback went for nought, and sent the team searching for answers.

The team’s offense has struggled to find an identity over that painful run. Their lineup had solid players like Matt Carpenter and Yadier Molina, but nobody that could consistently carry a team. Now, with a star like Goldschmidt joining the fray, they may finally have that anchor whom they can rely on all year. Goldy is coming off of a year where he hit .290 with 33 home runs, and has not had a year with a WAR under 4.6 since 2012. He has also been an all-star every year of that stretch, and even led the Diamondbacks to the playoffs back in 2017 while being the majority of offensive production. He’s the type of consistently good player the Cards haven’t had, as their big hitters like Carpenter and Marcell Ozuna both were some of the streakiest players in the Bigs a year ago. Goldschmidt, however, may be the force they’ve been looking for to carry St. Louis back into the postseason.

While Goldschmidt will undoubtedly be good, there are other factors that will impact the effectiveness of this trade. They gave up prospects Luke Weaver and Carson Kelly for him, along with AAA shortstop Andy Young as well as a pick. Goldschmidt only has one year on his deal left, so if Weaver or Kelly wind up being anything special, the Cardinals may regret the move if they can’t resign him. Although they will have the finances to do so, as well as the baseball crazed environment players usually love, nothing is a given. People thought Brandon Heyward was a lock to stay their trade with the Atlanta Braves in 2015, but he jumped ship to Chicago after one year. If Goldschmidt does decide to leave after this season, it wouldn’t take much from Kelly or Weaver for the Diamondbacks to win the trade. There are always these risks, and the Cardinals surely realize that, but re-signing Goldschmidt is going to need to be a huge focus of theirs over the next few years.

The Cardinals need this move. They haven’t been able to survive with their lineup full of solid role players, and it has made life difficult for them. Now, with a. legitimate star they can lean on, they finally have an element to their came that they haven’t since Albert Pujols took of for the LA Angels after 2011. It may not be enough on tis own to take them back to October, but this is the most hopeful sign the Cards fans have had in a long time.

Kemba Walker must be the most frustrated player in the NBA. He went from a great college career, which he capped off with a championship run, to the then Charlotte Bobcats. It took him a while to develop, but over the last few years he has shown he is a legitimate star. Now, though, he is having what may be the best season of his career. And he is doing it on a team that not only can’t win, but doesn’t really seem to be trying to either.

Much was expected out of Kemba after his great career at UConn. He started as a top prospect, but didn’t have a very polished game his freshman season. He then had a much better Sophomore year, which lead many to believe he may transition into a truly great college point-guard in the future. The next year, he did just that, averaging 23.5 points, 4.5 assists, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.9 steals a game. What was more remarkable, though, was how he carried the Huskies all the way to an NCAA championship that few saw coming. He impressed so much that the then Charlotte Bobcats decided he could be their point-guard of the future, and snatched him with the number 9 overall pick in the following draft.

It didn’t happen all at once. His defense never really carried over, and his scoring took a few seasons to translate. Everyone always saw the potential, but it wasn’t fully realized until his fifth year in Charlotte, when he put up 20.9 points a game with 5.2 assists, as well as showing much more efficiency with his shot. From there, it has only grown since, as the two full seasons since both yielded more points and assists per game, as well as a pair of all-star nods. Now, in 2018, he seems to have fully blossomed into the scoring machine people long expected him to become.

After proving that he was an all-star caliber player the last few years, he has reached a new level to his game, and set the NBA on fire in the process. He is averaging 28.2 points per game, which his five more than his previous career high of 23.2, while also having a carer high in assists as well, with 6.6. The advanced stats also show how dominant he’s become, as he has a 25 Player Efficiency Rating(PER). An average player has 15, so he is clearly setting himself apart from the rest of the NBA in a way he’s never done before.

There’s only one problem with Walker’s successs; it’s not enough. Despite their franchise player having his best year of his career, the Hornets have managed a lowly 9-10 record and are narrowly holding on to a play-off spot. Even if they hold on to their 8th seed, it would just mean they get an extra few games to be beaten down by however manages to finish atop the East. Walker simply has no talent around him. Although Miles Bridges looks like he may be good someday, and Molik Monk has played well since coming back from his injury, there really just isn’t a lot of help. They only have three players averaging double-digits, and their number two scorer, Jeremy Lamb, is only averaging half of Kemba’s output per night. This fact became abundantly clear a few games ago, when they lost in overtime to the Philadelphia 76’s despite Kemba dropping 60 points. That was the first time a player scored 60+ points and lost at home in 20 years. Clearly, no matter what level Kemba Walker plays at, Charlotte is a team without hope for this year.

Maybe Kemba should think of this as an audition. He’s a free-agent this offseason, so his performance may at least land him a lofty payday. What’s more, he was almost traded at the deadline last year. If the Hornets continue to play at this level, they may decide to finish a deal this year. That would at least give Walker a chance to play on a contender. Whatever happens, I’m sure Kemba Walker wants to win. Playing at a high-level and still lose be a terrible feeling, and nobody in the NBA understands that more than Walker.

Derrick Rose’s career may be one of the most tragic stories in sports history. At his best, he was at the very top of the game. He was the star in his hometown, and was good enough to dethrone King James in the MVP race while making his Bulls squad good enough to compete for championships. Then, when he seemed destined to be one of the greatest point-guards in history, it all collapsed. It started with one torn ACL, which then became knee injury after knee injury until it seemed like a miracle he could walk. In a matter of years, he went from the star of Chicago to being cut in midseason by a Cavaliers team that thought no point-guard was better than using him. When it all felt hopeless, the Minnesota Timberwolves, lacking depth at the guard position and desperate to make a play-off push, decided to give him a chance. While he was on and off after not playing consistently last season, he has turned that opportunity into something nobody expected; he has managed to once again make himself a legitimate NBA star.

For a long time, it looked like Derrick Rose could not adapt. He was a slasher whose injuries had drained him of his quickness, which meant that burst of speed he used to get to the rim was no longer there. It felt like watching a shell of his former self, and while the flashes were still there, few believed he would ever reach his former level of greatness ever again. Thinking along those lines, he was inevitably traded to the Knicks, who believed that maybe they could use him in their last ditch efforts at making a good team. It failed, and he had an average year in which he struggled with injuries and never really was able to consistently do the things he once did with ease. After that, he left for Cleveland, who desperately needed help at the point-guard position, having just traded their star, Kyrie Irving, for a less than suitable replacement in Isaiah Thomas, who would miss the first few weeks with injuries. Again, though, he struggled, and when it came time for the Cavs to rebuild their roster at the deadline, they no longer had a place for him. He was released and, for the first time in his career, unemployed. After a bad year, though, the Minnesota Timberwolves felt they could use him in their final push for a spot in the play-offs. While he wasn’t exactly stellar, he did manage to keep them afloat in the race enough that they let him keep his job. it was his chance to prove that he could still keep up with NBA competition, and he fully planned to take advantage of it.

Rose has turned his second chance at basketball into something nobody saw coming, as he went from struggling to find a place into the league into once again being a legitimate star. It didn’t happen from luck, or a fully healed body. Rather, he seems to have accepted that he isn’t quick enough to be the slasher he once was. Never again will he be able to simply burst past hopeless defenders for lay-ups 20 times a game. He won’t have defenses collapse on him to create for teammates the way the used to, because it only takes one man to keep up. So instead, he found different ways to score. And he found them at the 3-point line.

Rose, like the rest of the NBA, has decided that 3’s win ball games. He has begun making more 3’s than ever, and his stats have ballooned because of it. Over his career, Rose has hit 30.6% of his 3-pointers. That made him easy to guard, as you didn’t have to meet him at the perimeter to defend his jump-shot. This year, though, his percentage has skyrocketed to 47.8%. That means that instead of being dismissible from deep, now he has to be a priority. He can stretch the floor in ways he never could before. He doesn’t need to blast by his defenders the way they did, because, with them meeting him further outside, he only needs one step to get past them. Then, if they stay back to prevent his penetration, he can simply unload for 3. It adds a dimension to his offensive game that he wasn’t capable of before, and, if he can keep it up, he may find himself once again as one of the top point-guards in the game.

Nothing is a given. This may just be a long hot streak, or perhaps another knee injury will come and once again demolish everything he’s built. But maybe none of that will. Maybe this is Rose making good on the chance Minnesota has given him by fully reinventing himself as a player. Maybe he has managed to unlock a skill nobody thought he had, and can use it to bolster himself back to the top. There is always reason to doubt, but, for the first time in a long time, there is definitely reason to be optimistic.

There can be no doubt that this is the best football team Kansas City has had in years, maybe even decades. Second year back Patrick Mahomes has been the story of the NFL, as he is not only having one of the best first seasons of all time, but really one of the best in general. The Chiefs have the number one offense in the NFL, and have the firepower to maintain it for the rest of the season. There defense, however, is widely considered the worst defense in football. After a horrendous showing against the Rams on Monday Night Football, it may be time to ask the question Chiefs fans have been hoping to avoid; is the Chiefs defense bad enough to keep a historically great offense from winning in the Play-Offs.

The Chiefs have played three games against teams that were projected to compete for the Super Bowl so far this year. In all three they have been kept close by the offense, but gave up enough mistakes defensively that they only have one win in those games. it is in these three games that we see that, although the Mahomes led freight train of an offense is unbelievable, there defense may be so bad that its doesn’t matter.

The first of these games was a 42-37 away win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in week 2. At the time, this looked like a great win. Mahomes threw for 6 touchdowns as the Chiefs managed to hold off a tough opponent on the road. Now, though, this win seems as much a confirmation of the Chiefs’ hopelessness defensively as it was a confirmation of Mahomes’ talent. They allowed 475 total yards offensively, and allowed a team that shouldn’t have been on the same level to almost come back and steal a victory. It was a good job of them to hold on, but the cracks in the foundation definitely became apparent.

The next game was Kansas City’s first loss of the season, a 43-40 loss to the Patriots in New England. This loss was hardly a bad one. It was the first real adversity that Mahomes faced, and he responded by leading a comeback from 14 down in the second half before losing on a field goal in the final seconds. However, giving up 43 to a team is always going to make winning difficult. The Chiefs gave Belichick;s offense whatever he wanted, and because of that, they were able to march down the field multiple times in the fourth quarter to secure the victory. While nobody was blaming the Chiefs for losing in Foxborough, it still showed that there defense was going to struggle against talented teams.

Finally, there is the game in LA. On what might have been the greatest regular season game of all time, The Chiefs gave up 54 points in a 3 point loss in the Coliseum. Mahomes was great. He threw for 6 touchdowns(again!), and two of his three interceptions were on desperation throws in the last few minutes. Their defense, though, was terrible. They had penalty after penalty. They couldn’t guard any of the fast Ram’s receivers downfield. They did manage to hold Todd Gurley III without a TD for the first time in 13 games, but that and a lucky fumble recover TD are the only things they can hang their hat on. They simply could not stop the Rams, and it cost the Chiefs a game that they deserved to win. Mahomes was having one of the greatest performances of all time, and they cost him the dub. Before, it seemed as though the Chiefs could outpace their opponents most of the time, but, after last night, it seems like it doesn’t matter what they do offensively when they face talented teams. One of the greatest performances by an offense ever was not enough to overcome their defensive woes.

If they are going to win a Super Bowl, they have to learn to contain teams like this. They can’t give up 40+ points every time they play an above average offense, because it is just too much to expect Mahomes and Co. to keep up. They don’t have to be perfect, but they have to learn to get stops. They have to force the occasional turnover. The Chiefs have what it takes to win, but they need there defense to be consistent. They have shown flashes of what they can do, and even held the Bengals, a team having one of its best offensive seasons in years, to ten points. They can hold tough against these teams, and they know it. Proving it, though, is the only way we can see the Chiefs finally raise another banner.

The last three seasons have been very touch and go for Syracuse fans. They combined solid wins with bad losses to finish on the bubble all three years. Going into Selection Sunday, nobody knew whether they had a place in March Madness or not. Although they made it to at least the second weekend in the two that they made it, missing the tournament hardly lives up to the tough standards that the Boeheim’s Orange always hold themselves to. This year, though, things are looking different. This year’s Syracuse team is loaded with talent, has a deep lineup, and is full of veteran players that are just dying to make a big run in this year’s tournament.

Admittedly, this year’s team may get off to a slow start without their star point-guard Frank Howard. Their first two wins came without too much difficulty, as they managed a double-digit win over a tough Morrehead State team and a 32 point obliteration of Eastern Washington. Still, though, with a couple tough games against UConn and Ohio State, they may struggle without Howard. They have the talent to beat them, however a loss does not necessarily mean they have any serious problems. Howard will be back in plenty of time for ACC play, though, so you can expect them to really hit their stride and compete for the top spot in league play.

One of the biggest things Syracuse has going for it is the return of its star player, Tyus Battle. After testing waters in the draft last season, he decided to return for his final year of eligibility. That means that he is going to spend this season not only working for wins, but also for a good spot in next year’s draft class. Expect him to work harder than anyone on the team to play as well as possible. He is going to do everything he can to carry this team on his shoulders, and with all of his talent, that could be bad news for the rest of the ACC.

The biggest difference between this year’s team and the last three is how much more talent they have. While the previous Orange squads have had to rely on two or three players to carry the bulk of the load, but that isn’t going to be an issue this year. While Howard and Battle are going to be able to do a lot of scoring, they Oshae Brisset, who is averaging 18.5 points through the first few games, and Paschal Chukwu to provide consistent scoring inside as well as some of the best defense in the country. Add in Marek Dolexaj and Elijah Hughes as top role players, and you have a team with as much talent as any in the country.

While they are going to miss their starting point-guard for the first month or so, and don’t even have the deepest team to start with, this team is still going to be dangerous. Once Howard comes back, they will have an incredibly dangerous team that can beat anyone on a given night. As long as they can avoid serious injuries, it won’t take a bubble-vote to get them into the tournament this season. If everything goes well, they may even be able to capture a 3-4 seed. The sky really is the limit for this team, and they might fly under the radar all the way to April basketball.

College basketball is one of the best parts of every calendar year. From November to April, I rarely go longer than a few days without watching a game, and that would be the absolute longest I would go. No, it isn’t as great as baseball, but nothing could be. However, there is no better way to spend the winter than sitting on the couch and losing my mind every time the refs decide to hand Kansas a gameIarticles on that are sure to follow, I do not like the officiating in Kansas games) or stare in disbelief at something that whatever hyper-athletic recruit Calipari managed snap does. In short, college basketball is one of the most fun sports to watch, and this year is looking like it could be one of the best

This season seems prepared to be as exciting as any that have come before it. The biggest reason, and the most overplayed at this point in the year, is Duke’s recruiting class. This team is stacked, but Duke being good hardly constitutes any excitement. It isn’t just that they are talented, but its more how they are talented. Firstly, Zion Williamson may be the best dunking 18 year old of all time. Secondly, R.J. Barret is one of the best all around freshman you could imagine. He has the ball skills of a guard with the body of a wing. He can get inside and finish through contact, or shoot over you for three. He already has a very complete offensive game, and he hasn’t even talent the court in an official game yet. Seeing what he does with the talent around him will certainly be as interesting as it is breathtaking.

Secondly, there are two cinderella stories from last season’s tournament who are poised to be better this year. Loyola-Chicago managed to retain the majority of it’s players, so it should be able to repeat as a dominant force in the Missouri Valley that wins a couple games come March. The really exciting team, though, is the Nevada Wolfpack. By managing to bring back both of the Martin twins, they look like they might be a top ten team in the whole country. They probably won’t have a lot of tough games between now and March, but it should still be fun watching them ground their competition to a pulp up until that point.

While there are a lot of interesting recruits left, the last one I want to talk about is the 7 foot 2 center who can shoot. Whether or not Oregon’s freshman Bol Bol will actually pan out as the prospect some think he will remains to be seen, but no matter what, watching him play will be fun. If he really does have control over his jump shot, he might be one of the most dangerous scorers of all time. It should be a given that he can score inside, so it should be cool to watch a seven foot monster dominate either way, but if he can stretch the floor as well, that would be something else entirely. I am already this guy’s biggest fan, and I really hope he ends up being as awesome as people say..

There are a lot of reasons this will be a great year, but these were my favorite. College basketball is a great sport, so it’s always exciting when it starts. Who knows if any of this will actually pan out, and there will certainly be new, more interesting storylines as the season progresses, but I am more excited for the beginning of this year than I can remember being for any prior seasons. It’s shaping up to be great, and I can’t wait to see what happens.

Nobody thought the 2018-2019 Lakers were a good enough team to take a championship back to Los Angeles. They were, however, expected to be a top three team in the West could maybe make it all the way to the conference finals before jumping in front of the freight train that is the Golden State Warriors. With the addition of Lebron, as well as a few solid role players, they seemed poised to make last years team look like a joke. After a rough start to the season, though, these goals may seem like far more than they can chew, as they are currently residing in twelfth place in their conference, meaning they have to pass four teams just to make the 8th seed in the playoffs. There’ve only been 10 games so far this season, but are we sure that this isn’t more than just a slow start?

Almost every year, LeBron’s teams get off to a slow start, especially when he’s on a new team. Both the Heat and the Cavaliers got off to bad starts when he joined and rejoined them respectively. Both years, though, he still managed to lead them into The Finals. This year, however, feels different. LeBron isn’t young anymore, and these Lakers have nowhere near the supporting classes he had in Miami or Cleveland. There are no super starts to pick up the slack when he isn’t at his best, and his best isn’t enough to carry teams on his back anymore. James’ 2017-2018 season was perhaps the most strenuous of all time, as he had to lead the league in minutes and play at his best every single night to make the Cavs as successful as they were. Although he is one of the greatest althea’s of all time, it would take something magical for him, or anyone, to be able to pull a season like that off again.

The biggest problem for LA is not that LeBron is getting older, but more that he has almost no help. The team has talent, but none of it really seems to meld. They have two pass-first point guards who don’t really play defense and have no jump shot in Lonzo Ball and Rajon Rando. Their starting center Javale McGee has far surpassed expectations, but he is the only solid big on the team, and he is one of the only players the Lakers have who can play defense. It feels like coach Luke Walton just does not have many lineups that fit together, and almost every lineup he has without James is going to struggle.

The Leker’s biggest problem is definitely their defense. While LeBron, McGee, and newcomer Lance Stephenson are all fairly talented on that end of the floor, the rest of the roster is almost a blackhole every time they try to defend. Two of the players that are supposed to lead the team, Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram, are human turnstiles. I already mentioned that Ball and Rando struggle regularly to stay in front of people. The Lakers may need some new personal if they want to resolve this issue, because there are just too many players who aren’t able to keep up. It is becoming a serious problem, and if we don’t see improvement, it may jeopardize them even making the playoffs while effectively ruining their chances at competing for the Western Conference Championship.

It’s far from time to throw in the towel. Walton is a smart coach, and there is plenty of talent on the roster to see better results. However there are clear cracks in the foundation that need to be fixed. They really need to fix defense, as well as have someone step up to reduce the pressure that LeBron faces on a nightly basis. The season is young, and there is still plenty of time to right the ship, but these still are problems that need to be resolved sooner than later if this team plans to meet its lofty expectations.

The Milwaukee Brewers were arguably the best team in the National League this season. Their bullpen could easily have been the best in baseball, and they were carried down the stretch by the probably MVP winner Christian Yelich. Their lineup had few holes in it, and they were solid defensively as well. The only real problem that they ever encountered was their starting pitching, and that didn’t really show up when they can get four solid innings out of their ‘pen on a nightly basis. After winning the play-in game against Chicago, they finished first in the central, dominated the Rockies in the divisional round, and narrowly lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a tight seven game series. For most teams, that would be a successful season that left hopes for better ones in the future. For the Brewers, though, this may be their last chance for a long time to compete at this high a level.

The first red flag for the Brewer’s future hopes is their lack of starting pitching. While it didn’t show up a lot this season, it really was a problem for them. In fact, their inability to get a starter through any significant number of innings was probably what cost them the NLCS against the Dodgers. While their problem is easily identified, fixing it is going to be very difficult this off-season. There is not a strong class of free agent pitchers this winter, and they have few prospects who are going to be able to make any kind of a difference anytime soon. Their only hope would be to acquire a solid starter via the trademarked, but they may not have a deep enough team to be able to make that happen. it seems like this is a problem that could persist for years to come.

Another reason that the door may be closing in Milwaukee is how many of their contributors may not be able to repeat. The surging offense of Jesus Aguilar seems unlikely to happen again, as he came out of nowhere and slowed down in the second half as pitchers learned how to get him out. Lorenzo Cain and Ryan Braun are both getting up there in years, and may not have a lot of time left to play at their 2018 levels. While Yelich is young enough that he should still be a very solid player for a long time, the odds of him repeating his magical 2018 campaign seem rather low. They simply lack the sustainability to make me believe that they’ll be able to reach the level they played at this season offensively again.

Their future’s biggest problem, though, is how much they are built through their bullpen. While having a dominant bullpen almost always results in October baseball, it also has as many risks as rewards. Bullpen pitchers almost always have steep and sudden declines, and they can happen at anytime. Teams that build through their bullpens are typically very good for at least a year or two, but they also tend to implode once their bullpen stops being elite. The 2014 and 2015 Royals dominated baseball when they had the tandem of Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera, and Greg Holland. However, almost all at once, that bullpen fell apart, and they haven’t reached the play-offs since capturing their 2015 championship. Unfortunately, that seems like a route the Brewers may end up taking as well. They relied very heavily on their bullpen this year, and if it takes even a slight step back, it could prove very costly for The Crew.

Nothing is a given. The Brewers may prove me wrong and string off a half decade of domination with these pieces. If their offense stays intact and they can improve their pitching staff, they may actually do just that. However, the way it is right now, it seems much more likely that they look back at 2018 as the one year that they really had a chance. Consistently winning is difficult, and too many teams that were built like MIlwuakee’s have fallen fast. It doesn’t seem too unlikely that the Brewers will follow suit.

There is no question that Giannis Antetokounmpo is geared up to have his best year yet. He is coming off of a breakthrough season in which he really established himself as an all-star player. What is more impressive, though, is how mismanaged the team around him was. Their in-game decision making was so bad that their coach, Jason Kidd, was fired halfway through the season despite the team being in a decent position to make the play-offs. Their interim wasn’t much better, but now, with an experienced coach like Mike Budenholzer, the Bucks, and specifically Giannis, are ready to explode.

Giannis has the pieces around him to be great. He has Eric Bledsoe to take away some of the playmaking weight off of his shoulders, and plenty of pieces like Khris Middleton, Malcolm Brogdon, and Brook Lopez for him to pass to. They are just good enough that he won’t have to do all of the work, but also just bad enough that he will get to have the ball as much as he wants. Especially without a lot of really good passers to facilitate the offense, the offense is basically going to begin and end with Giannis. He has the skills to score inside at will, as well as the passing ability to dish it out to his teammates after the defense collapses on him. The Bucks are completely his team, and he has the skillset to make them compete for a top spot in the East.

Another big thing to go Giannis’ way is that he is going to have a defensive system that properly utilizes his abilities on defense. He can legitimately guard all five positions, and Budenholzer has a back for turning his wings into huge contributors on that end of the court. With a coach that builds around players with his skillset, it could be a huge year for him. Although it is hard to imagine him improving as a defender after nearly winning Defensive Player of the Year last season, we might actually see it. The sky is the limit for “The Greek Freak”, and don’t be surprised if he finishes with the Defensive POY that he nearly won last year.

Because he has a coach that is going to utilize him better on both ends of the floor, seeing Giannis walk away with his first MVP award should surprise no one. He has improved so much every year without proper coaching that its actually scary to think about what he’ll do with a coach noted for developing players. This season may actually go beyond an MVP, though. This may be the season that he goes from “future superstar” to “future Hall of Famer”. He might have more talent than any player since Lebron, and the seems like the year we see him fully evolve into a truly great player. That is a lot to live up to, but there can be no question that he has what it takes to make these immense expectations into a reality.

For whatever reason, this is a team that nobody has talked about going into the 2017-2018 season. After stealing the fifth seed in the East last year, they came about as close as possible to beating a team that would eventually make the Finals. They had plenty of young talent, and they only improved with this off-season. Despite the lack of attention, I think that this is a team with realistic odds at claiming the Eastern crown.

This is a team that was full of young talent last season. It’s best player, Victor Oladipo, broke out in a big way by setting career marks in scoring, assists, rebounds, and steals. He even led the league in takeaways, as he became one of the most solid perimeter defenders in the league. If he can improve even further, he could go from all-star to super-star in a flash. Plus improvement from their bigs, Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis, along with continued sharpshooting from point-guard Darren Collison, they might have one of the best inside-outside offenses in the league. They might have the firepower this year to keep up with any team on any given night if they can put all of that talent together.

On top of their young core, they also made a couple moves that could really help their chances. Their biggest lose this off-season was Lance Stephenson. Although he was a talented two-way player, they more than made up for it with the acquisition of Tyreke Evans. He is a talented guard who can both create for himself and for others, and he could really bolster their offense. On top of that, they added more sharpshooting to their backcourt by drafting UCLA’s star Aaron Holiday. He has the potential to put up huge scoring numbers if given the chance, and, if. he can make himself into a half-decent defender, can even become a terrific player in this league. While some teams may have fallen into complacency after a surprisingly good year like the Pacer’s had, they reloaded themselves instead.

It wouldn’t be impossible for this team to backslide. Young teams are always a threat to falter, especially after they weren't supposed to be that good in the first place. Nothing is going to be given to Indianapolis, and they are going to have to work for any repeated success. The pieces are their for a deep run, though, so don’t be surprised to see them last two or three rounds come play-off time.

With the NBA season rapidly approaching, everyone is making their picks for what is going to happen. However, with the Warrior’s chances at winning so high, there is not a lot to predict with who is going to win the championship. There is, however, one thing that could go any number of ways. This season, there are plenty of number of candidates who could wind up taking home the MVP trophy, and going into the new year, it is hard to decide which of them actually has the best chance.

Lebron James:

It makes sense to start this conversation with the player who has more MVP’s than any other active player. With the move to the West, he is going to get more attention than any other player in the NBA. If he plays well, which he will, the added headlines could definitely help his case. If the Lakers disappoint, though, his chances would be slim to none. Plus he carried a team to the Finals last year completely by himself and still didn’t win his fifth. It seems like the voters may be done with Lebron, so his odds aren’t as high as they probably should be.

Kevin Durant/Steph Curry:

These two are grouped together because their odds, and their problems, are all basically the same. Even though these are two of the best players in the league, and of all time, they still probably will not win another. Both put up big numbers on their own teams, which is why they collectively have three, but with each taking up so much time with the ball, it seems unlikely that they’ll manage to win another. It isn’t impossible, especially if one gets hurt, but they certainly aren’t at the top of the list right now.

James Harden:

Last year’s winner has as good a chance of any at making it a repeat. His scoring will only go up after Houston lost some of their key contributors, and he is at an age where he may still be able to improve his game. If he can put up similar scoring numbers with improved defensive and passing, he could definitely win another.

Russel Westbrook:

This is another player who might deserve it without winning it. Two years ago, when he was busy becoming the first player since Oscar Robertson to finish a season averaging a triple-double, he got tons of attention en route to winning an MVP. Last year he did the exact same thing, minus the MVP. Averaging big numbers is all he can offer, as he has yet to lead a team to any real success on his own, so it seems unlikely that a third season of triple-double numbers would be enough. He’s on the list, but barely.

Kawhi Leonard:

Like Lebron, he is going to get a lot of headlines in his new city. If he leads Toronto to top one-spot in the East with big numbers, he could easily be the one who goes home with the trophy. He has the talent to do it, but who knows if he can stay focused enough to put it all together for a full season like he did a few years ago. If he can, though, don’t be surprised if he finishes with his first MVP.

Giannis Antetokounmpo:

The Greek Freak broke out in a big way last year. He put up monster numbers all year on a team that was mismanaged and not especially talented outside of him. Still, he carried them to the play-offs and put himself in the MVP race in the process. If he can improve yet again, especially wit a better team and better coach around him, it would not be at all surprising to see him take his first MVP.

Anthony Davis:

Anthony Davis is an absolute monster. There really isn’t another way to describe it. Nobody can play as well inside on either side of the court as he can. Add in a jump shot and you have yourself a franchise player. He is the most versatile big in the league, and he has more than enough talent to bring New Orleans an MVP.

The Rest:

While those are the biggest names, there are plenty of others with decent chances as well. If Klay Thompson gets super aggressive, he could put up the scoring numbers to get it, although it would probably take multiple injuries on the Warriors for that to happen. If Damian Lillard has a career year, his scoring output could easily land him atop the list. Chris Paul might be able to do what Harden did last year to win the trophy. Nikola Jokic has a very, very, very outside chance of putting up the triple-double stats Westbrook did a few years ago. Kyrie or Gordon Hayward might dominate the East enough to win. There are still more, but these pretty much fill out the short-list for pre-season predictions.

Change is a good thing. This phrase isn’t always true, but it definitely is in the case of the World Series. Yes, baseball is baseball, so no matter what happens, I will watch it. However, watching the same teams play over and over Is nowhere near as entertaining as original teams. Watching the Warriors play the Cavaliers play in the NBA Finals for four straight years made the NBA almost unwatchable. Having the Patriots dominate the AFC made the Super Bowl much less fun to watch. Teams have been making Championships multiple years in a row has been occurring far too frequently lately, and it would be disappointing to see it spread to baseball as well.

So far this post-season, a Dodger-Astro rematch seems very possible. Both have made it to their respective LCS’s, and both ended their seasons on substantial hot streaks. They both have more than enough fire power to win another four games. That would be very disappointing in my opinion. With so many different story lines that could have come from all of the talented teams this year, it boiling down to the same series as 2017 would be kind of a letdown. Watching the “Baby Braves” take home a title after losing a hundred games would have been a great story. Having the Rockies or Brewers win their first World Series ever wasn’t something people were thinking about early, but going into the play-offs it seemed like a real possibility for either one. Even though it would be interesting to see a real rivalry form between the two teams would be pretty cool, especially since they used to be in the same division. However, seeing new blood is always a good thing, so it would be very disappointing to see that not happen.

Honestly, it wouldn’t be the worst thing from a pure baseball point of view. My biggest problem isn’t from a dislike of repeats in general, but rather the result of watching it happen so many other sports. Watching Tom Brady cheat(yep, I went there) his way to three Super Bowl appearances has been painful. Alabama has like a 99% of winning the Championship going into every year. The Warriors may have put together the most unbeatable team in NBA history. Seeing all of these teams succeed at once has gotten boring. Seeing it spread to baseball would be an overall negative for the sports world.

Repeats aren’t always bad. Watching the Warriors was fun at the beginning,but it grew old rather quickly. Tom Brady is probably the least fun to watch player in all of the sports world. Watching the same teams win over and over is not fun. Hopefully, with Lebron joining the West and Brady getting old will hopefully balance things for a while. Still, it would help if baseball saw some new faces at the finish line. No, it would not be the worst thing to have ever happened, but I still think that it would be better for everyone involved if the World Series got some new teams.